Need Assistance Neighbor's Rooster in our Yard

[Littlejerrys27]

Our neighbor got a rooster about 3 months ago. He has been in our yard for a month. The neighbors won't come get him back. I can't keep him?????? How do I find him a good home? He seems nice enough. I also know we are not feeding him well. Yikes. I started feeding because he looked sick. Now he comes to the door and knocks. Help!!! Glendale Arizona

 

[Littlejerrys27]

Sorry this may be in the wrong forum. Ugh I though I selected rehoming.

 

[Tortoise]

I would bring him back to the neighbors and hand them their rooster. Otherwise post an ad in on local neighborhood "Nextdoor" forum.

 

[Littlejerrys27]

Thank you for the suggestion! Never held a chicken. Will certainly try... Yikes.

 

[Tortoise]

Do a search on the internet on how to hold a chicken. It's not as easy as you think. Do it wrong and you will get slapped by a couple wings going crazy lol. Yep, I know from experience lol.

 

[DrVeghead]

Sorry this may be in the wrong forum. Ugh I though I selected rehoming.

This is the correct forum! You can also try the Arizona forum if you like:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/arizona-chickens.31227/

 

[Tankueray]

They are refusing to come get him or he keeps coming back? You've actually spoken to them about this in person and they say they do not want him? Do they have any other chickens?

Animals are normally considered property, you cannot give away someone else's property unless you can prove that they have abandoned it. Step one would be to get their written consent to rehome him; or call your local authorities and report them, there's probably at least a loose animal ordinance, but other creative charges could be various animal abandonment/cruelty citations, illegal dumping, trespassing, or creating a nuisance. Then you can call your local humane societies, look on Facebook for a local chicken group, or call animal control. If you get rid of him without their permission, he could suddenly become a $600 prize show rooster from a historical bloodline and you could be accused of theft, or sued for the cost of the rooster and the income from sales of his offspring.

Next point, you say he's friendly enough. If he's alone, that might always be the case, but if he has females nearby and he's sexually mature, he should be more interested in them than your house. Regardless, there's always the possibility that a Rooster could become aggressive or defensive, especially in an unusual situation like this. Be very leary about letting young children come into proximity of this bird until you know what the long term plan is going to be.